Whiteford chooses Blissfield firm for fire station roof

OTTAWA LAKE — A Blissfield company won a $34,000 contract Tuesday to replace the roof at the Whiteford Center fire station.

The township board held a special meeting to discuss the six bids it received for the project. The bids received ranged from $22,350 to $42,750 to repair and replace the roof with convential shingles. Bids were also received for metal or aluminum roofs.

The fire station was built 10 years ago. Supervisor Walt Ruhl said the repairs are needed because the roof is “losing shingles because of improper installation.”

One area of the roof now has a tarp over it and township officials held the special meeting Tuesday to get the process rolling on the repairs. It was the only item on the agenda.

Trustee Don Sahloff said township residents have a right to be upset that the roof is already in need of replacement.

“It’s the citizens that have to pay for this,” he said.

Treasurer Tim Hill said the township has paid for two previous repairs to the roof over the last 10 years already. At some point, he said, it was better off for the township to proceed with fixing the whole product, rather than try and repair a small portion again.

Most of the discussion Tuesday centered around whether to replace the roof with a heavy-duty shingle or to go with a metal roof. Tom Heidelberg from Blissfield Maintenance was the only contractor at the meeting. He suggested that whatever contractor the board hire it use a heavy-duty shingle because of the strong winds in that area and the fact that there are no other buildings or anything to block the wind.

The board voted 4-1 to go with Mr. Heidelberg’s bid. Mr. Sahloff voted no, he said, because he wanted more details in the bid documents.

“We haven’t got enough specs in these bids in front of me,” he said. “There’s not enough to protect us.”

The board also debated where the money would come from for the job. It was the sentiment of the board that the millage money the township collects for the fire department could be used for the work.

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